Happy summer. Your project is about to get disrupted.

Summer brings vacations, kids free from school, office summer hours, and weddings.  It disrupts the flow of business (up to 20 percent decrease in productivity and a 13 percent increase in project turnaround times).  Global projects are particularly vulnerable to The Summer Syndrome, since many workers abroad often vacation at the same time, in August.

In the U.S. not everyone will vacation at the same time…but that’s a mixed blessing. A string of vacations taken throughout summertime creates a ripple effect as the project progresses. Decision makers, team members, vendors, consultants, shippers, payment processors – every function and business segment is affected.

That’s a compelling argument for the Project Success Method’s duration based project planning.  Our seven-step duration estimating process helps team members devise real-world timeframes (in which people go on vacations, for instance), while our add-in for Microsoft Project give managers more control of the schedule.

Of course project managers must still monitor for schedule slippage to prevent the Summer Syndrome.  However, the right tools and realistic scheduling can help make projects and teams have it “made in the shade” clear through to project completion.

Even if PSI’s headquarters weren’t in Atlanta, we’d still be fans of the Hawks.

They gave us an exciting season – and gave the Cavs a close call in Game Three despite injuries.  They also brought to life the importance of teamwork. (Earlier this year, the NBA named the Hawks’ entire starting five “Player of the Month.”) In the Eastern Conference finals with the Cavaliers, the contrast could not be starker:  a team playing as a unit, vs. a team with a Superstar – the Superstar – LeBron James.

They were swept by the Cavs, but they succeeded in other respects.  They demonstrated that real teamwork, with no one player bigger than the rest, sharing the ball, communicating, and helping teammates is a powerful strategy.  Injuries and questionable behavior from opponents took a toll, but this is a young team committed to a long-term strategy.

That’s a lesson that project managers trying a new approach might take to heart – institutional success is a long game that requires a long-term commitment.   In project management, that’s a compelling and relevant lesson. A superstar is a phenomenon, but everyone in project management works on a team.

We can’t wait till October.

One distinctive – but misunderstood – aspect of the Project Success Method is the importance of frequent, face to face meetings. Frequent meetings are too often considered productivity-killing time-wasters – there’s even an app for that.

Yet, time and again, we’ve found that face to face team meetings are the best way to get things done, especially if the ‘mechanics” of the meetings are right:

•  Schedule consistently, using the same dates/times. Apps can help; a comprehensive roundup is here.

• Be brief. After 45 minutes to an hour, focus plunges.

• Create an agenda, stick to it, lead it and end it on time.

• Stay on track. Note essential, but non-agenda concerns, and follow up after the meeting.

• Refreshments? Beverages yes; food no.  Dehydration hampers focus, but it plummets if attendees sit still for an hour in a crowded, windowless room while digesting lunch.

• No electronics or side discussions.

• Air concerns, questions, problems and solutions…but not complaints or whining.

These “mechanics” help create a successful meeting, but proper planning and people skills are key.  Together, these elements can make meetings less of a necessary evil and more of meeting of the minds.

One expert says we’re in a Golden Age of Procrastination.  For project managers, this is hardly news.  However, if any particular project aspect or team is consistently late, it might be time to look under the hood. What is the procrastination telling you?

Some possible reasons:

• Teams or team members perceive a challenge to their ability
• Teams or team members see the tasks as unwelcome demand on their time
• Team members are pressured by their functional managers to work on other priorities
• Team members are not motivated
• A particular task has hit a bottleneck
• Team members have been drafted into a timetable they consider unrealistic

The Project Success Method offers three integrated management processes that prevent or address these issues with a clearly defined, thoroughly planned, and proactively controlled process during execution.  The linchpin, however, is our proven consensus building approach with the team members that builds real teamwork and –most important – encourages the team’s commitment to the schedule and the project.

Some scientists say we are hard wired for procrastination, but if you want better, faster project results…what are you waiting for?

Although it’s Spring, the No Pants Festival has nothing to do with Spring Break and everything to do with an evolving management trend – the remote management of digital nomads. I call this type of workplace management “Radical Flexibility.”

The newest take on Radical Flexibility is ROWE (Results Only Work Environment).  The ideal ROWE workplace eliminates office norms: no set hours, no required meetings or office hours unless required to do your job.  The only measure of value is the results.

More accountability and less micromanaging are Project Success Method bywords, and some studies suggest positive impacts…but the underlying assumptions are less promising:

• you could get so much more work done if you didn’t have to bother with other people

• structure is a cage

A collaborative environment needs some structure – how can people work as a team without set hours? – and a meaningful team can’t be formed with people only known to each other as an email address.

The Project Success Method offers a better, hybrid alternative.  Our techniques encourage in-person meetings to strengthen mutual support, collaboration and commitment to projects – but individuals are free to decide whatever pace or solutions work best. The Method has worked for small new product launches and large-scale, mission critical, time-sensitive, cross functional projects across an entire enterprise – while combining accountability and freedom for individuals, teams and managers.

Now that’s what I call Radical.  But no, it’s not pants optional.

A survey of 32,000 employees revealed that people who met with their managers up to six hours a week were more inspired, engaged and innovative at work. That confirms PSI’s preference for in-person, biweekly team status meetings to shift the Worry Curve.

We know it’s difficult to make time, coordinate schedules, and reserve the room. However, consider the pitfalls of relying solely on electronic status reports – for project managers and teams:

• It encourages procrastination:  Emailed status reports and updates sit in an inbox with other email – easy to overlook or put off. It doesn’t command the attention a meeting would.

• It discourages group problem solving:  Electronic reporting deprives the project of the collective insight and support of the entire team when problems arise.

• It hinders accountability: The biggest problem electronic reporting creates is enabling team members to avoid public accountability for their tasks by hiding behind email.

In-person meetings create team commitment to the project, to each other and to their own roles in the project, while project managers find it easier to monitor progress, see deviations from the plan and tap the insights of the whole group to find solutions.  Being in a room together drives accountability, results, and a sense of community.

It’s a lot better than hiding behind an email.

“Paralysis by Analysis,” “Information Overload,” “TMI.”

If the key to a successful project is controlling time, one timewaster to eliminate is over-reporting. Some managers spend too much time tracking too many activities at too low a level of detail.

Luckily, reporting doesn’t have to be like doing your taxes, if you have some guidelines on how much detail is enough:

Each activity should produce a deliverable or change in product status with just enough information to indicate a change in status.

• Subdivide long-term activities into tasks of about a month, so you can track and monitor progress reliably.
• As a rule of thumb, a good level of detail is between three and fifteen working days.

Of course, some large, complex projects – just like large, complex tax returns – need some outside help. Our hands-on course in Control Methods & Practices with Microsoft Project streamlines controlling the performance of projects characterized by complexity and dynamic change.

A concise reporting strategy lets everyone spend their time on the project and not on reporting. Whoever said “the Devil is in the details” was likely a project manager.

Are you getting the most out of your workplace conflicts?

PSI considers project conflicts a feature, not a bug, especially in the chartering process. A skilled facilitator uses conflicts (in resources, scheduling, timing and more) to flag problems and solve them. The key is having the right skills and credentials:

-They understand the contents and value of a good project charter

-They can lead a diverse group in a complex discussion for two hours or more

-They have no stake in any particular outcome

Two out of three won’t fly here. Although your company’s project manager seems like a logical choice, neither the project manager, the customer, nor the project sponsor should be facilitators. Team members will either withhold problems (thus not solving them) or consider the process a charade and their input won’t be heeded. Either way, the project suffers because not all problems have been addressed and because the project team has limited commitment.

Some companies tap someone from HR, or get someone from the International Association of Facilitators. Call me biased, but for a chartering process with a proven track record of success, outside experts from PSI, who can facilitate and consult on the project, are your best bet.

This year society reached a game-changing milestone.

In 2015, millennials (ages 18 – 34) will be the nation’s largest living generation. They use a different playbook (There’s actually a quiz.).

The generational clash is most evident in the workplace, where recruiters note the exodus of talent. The stakes are high (between $15,000 and $25,000 for each replacement). Are project managers (with neither hiring nor salary authority for team members) vulnerable to millennial staff turnover?

Not necessarily. Some of the qualities millennials value are:

-The opportunity to be part of a team

-Challenges and opportunities for career growth

-Guidance and support available when needed.

The Project Success MethodÒ incorporates these factors. It is a fast, cost-effective way for millennials to learn how to get things done, while instilling workplace values and techniques that will benefit them and their employers long-term.

Compared to that, who cares if they never heard of an answering machine?

Connect with me:

• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/clintpadgett
• Twitter: @clintpadgett

Clint Padgett is the president and CEO of PSI. Since joining the firm in 1994, he has provided consulting, training, and account management to clients in a wide range of industries. His project experience covers many traditional and special applications, including: product development, equipment installation/startup, facility construction/moves, marketing, software/hardware system implementation, and international sporting events. He is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He is associated with the Project Management Institute, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and the Product Development & Management Association, among others. Additionally, Clint is a published author and frequently speaks at conferences on the subject of project management, including the Executive Education program in the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he is an adjunct professor.

Leaders like Bill Gates worry that Artificial Intelligence will create havoc. Even now, ethicists grapple with the unintended consequences of automated programs – like illegal activity.

The fascination with AI is part popular culture and part business savvy. It’s tempting (in cost and time savings) to automate – to remove or limit the human element and personal interaction.

It’s a false economy.

Several studies prove that nothing beats face to face meetings for transparency, trust, cohesion, and persuasiveness. Leaders of in-person meetings obtain better information. They pick up on cues by individuals and ‘read the room” as a whole to get subtext that no software or AI program can detect.

More important, periodic, in-person meetings of team members makes sure the Worry CurveÒ is shifted. Teams reinforce mutual accountability and support each member.   As they continue to meet and solve problems, their commitment to the project, to each other and to their own role grows in a way no software can duplicate. It’s a lot more satisfying than monitoring via Skype or filling in boxes in a software program.

And of course, with face to face meetings with real people, you can rest assured some AI software isn’t blowing the project budget playing internet poker or doing insider trading.